\n<\/p>\n
I spent an exciting, exhausting week last September with the new Apple iPhone 14 in hand before it went on sale. I did everything I could over the course of that week \u2014 navigating, web browsing, recording video, gaming, selfies, ferry rides, selfies on the ferry<\/a>, you name it \u2014 to try to answer the $800 question: should you buy it?\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The answer then, which I stand by now, is \u201cprobably not.\u201d It\u2019s a great phone, but it\u2019s not meaningfully better than the iPhone 13. Sure, it makes sense to pick the 14 if your carrier is giving you a great deal or you spend a lot of time out of cell range where the new Emergency SOS might be a literal lifesaver<\/a>. Or go for the iPhone 14 Pro<\/a> if you\u2019re after the very latest features. But for the rest of us, the iPhone 13 is just as good with the added benefit of costing a little less.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I\u2019m a woman of my word, so when it became clear that it was time to upgrade my iPhone 11 before its trade-in value fell off a cliff, I headed straight for the iPhone 13 \u2014 the Mini, to be precise, which is down to $600. Since the end of last year, I\u2019ve spent a lot of time testing the latest generation of high-end phones: the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra<\/a>, Google Pixel 7 Pro<\/a>, and a recent revisit of the iPhone 14 Pro<\/a>. They\u2019re all amazing phones in their own ways. But when it came time to make my own decision about which phone to buy, I didn\u2019t pick any of those latest and greatest devices. Nope, I traded in my 11 (along with a small piece of my soul) to Verizon for the humble little iPhone 13 Mini, and I haven\u2019t looked back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It fits beautifully into the outer pocket of my mom-at-the-playground-chic belt bag<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I opted for the Mini because I love a small phone<\/a>, and it seems very likely that the 13 Mini is going to be the last good<\/em> small phone. But even if you prefer a bigger phone, I still think the 13 is where it\u2019s at. You don\u2019t get the upgraded camera hardware and processing offered by the 14, but it\u2019s still a good camera overall \u2014 decent portrait mode photos, very good video, and an ultrawide for a little drama. And you do get photographic styles and cinematic video mode \u2014 both of which I use regularly (rich contrast stans, unite!<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Outside of the camera, the 13 Mini remains a really good phone by modern standards, even a year and a half after launch. Battery life isn\u2019t its strong suit, but it\u2019s enough to get me through a day of moderate use with a comfortable margin. It fits beautifully into the outer pocket of my mom-at-the-playground-chic belt bag. It\u2019s plenty fast and responsive with its A15 Bionic processor. It has MagSafe and, therefore, wireless charging. It also has a physical SIM tray, whereas the iPhone 14 is all eSIM. Most people don\u2019t need to worry about this; I change phones once a week, and eSIM makes my life a living hell<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The 13 Mini isn\u2019t perfect. There are things I wish it had but that, for the most part, I wouldn\u2019t get on the iPhone 14 anyway \u2014 they\u2019re features reserved for the pricier 14 Pro. And while the 14 is just moderately more expensive than the 13 Mini ($800 versus $600), the $1,000 14 Pro is a lot <\/em>more expensive by comparison. A smooth-scrolling 120Hz screen, telephoto lens, always-on display: all Pro-only. They\u2019re very nice things to have, but are they $400 nicer? Maybe. But not for me, not right now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n That\u2019s the question it always comes down to: not which is the best phone but which is the best phone for me<\/em>? That\u2019s the question I spend most of my days trying to help people answer. It\u2019s fun to declare winners and losers, but when it comes to something as personal as your phone, picking the right one to live with is always a little more complex than that.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n